The turn away from print media and toward online news, social media and tablet-based news has led to a need for a drastic alteration of the way public relations is measured and evaluated. For AMEC, the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication, this year’s annual summit is that much more relevant.

In order to address the changing needs of the PR profession in terms of evaluation and measurement, AMEC has teamed with the PRCA and the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) to release a definitive guide on PR evaluation. The ‘PR Professionals Guide to Measurement’, launched on 6 June at the AMEC Annual Summit, provides guidelines on best practice in PR measurement.

AMEC, ICCO and PRCA members contributed 12 chapters featuring case studies and best practice advice outlining the latest thinking in measurement and evaluation. For these organisations, and nearly the entirety of the PR industry, AVEs are dead and buried. These new guidelines present an alternative to that traditional mode of PR measurement.

Jeremy Thompson, vice chair of AMEC and chief executive of The Gorkana Group, says, “In an age where media reputation is seen as a critical component of corporate and brand value, AMEC is committed to expanding the use of measurement as the means of proving performance.” 


The guide provides commentary on the shortfalls of past metrics and includes advice from those at the forefront in the industry. It also specifically tackles the challenges and benefits of accurately approaching social media measurement.

PRCA director general Francis Ingham says, “We believe that measurement is critically important for PR professionals to use to justify their work, especially in today's economic climate, and that this practical guide, developed by AMEC, ICCO and the PRCA will help make measurement a business imperative, not an optional extra.”

To read more about PR measurement, see the following links:

http://www.communicatemagazine.co.uk/news/4454-rulers-no-longer-part-of-pr-measurement-toolkit

http://www.communicatemagazine.co.uk/news/4486-what-the-future-holds

http://www.communicatemagazine.co.uk/news/4331-social-media-rates-a-new-tv-metric